


An Unexpected Souvenir

by redbrunja



Category: Suzanne Brockmann - Troubleshooters Inc series
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-21
Updated: 2009-12-21
Packaged: 2017-10-04 20:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redbrunja/pseuds/redbrunja
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robin brings back something surprising from his press junket in China.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Unexpected Souvenir

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dea](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Dea).



 Robin Cassidy paced across the living room of his South Boston home.

He hadn't felt this shaky and out of control sin

ce he'd been detoxing and held hostage with Annie Dugan, convinced Jules was dead.

And this situation, the latest imbroglio Robin had gotten himself into with his impatience and inability to think ahead, had a whip-crack of ecstatic joy mixed in with craven fear that made the whole thing uniquely terrifying.

Robin desperately wanted to talk to Jules, to put his cheek against the top of Jules head, to feel his husband's arms tight around his back. Only, for the first time since they'd gotten married, he had no idea whether or not Jules would... if Robin had just ruined the best thing that ever–

Robin forced himself to calm down. He breathed deeply. He counted to ten, like one of his sponsors had recommended for when he was craving a drink.

He just didn't know how Jules was going to react. But he would find out. Just as soon as Jules came home.

Which should have been _two days ago_.

Robin realized he was practically hyperventilating and counting so fast even he didn't know what number he was at.

He threw himself on the couch, grabbing the remote like a life preserver. He stabbed his thumb down on the power button and then started flipping through channels. As a distraction, television might have been more successful if he'd stopped on any one channel for longer than half a second.

After running through all 137 available channels twice, Robin turned off the tv, tossed the remote into the couch cushions, and rubbed his hands across his face, hating the way they trembled slightly.

It had started while he'd been on a publicity tour for _Explosive Panic!, _the first big-budget picture he'd worked on since he'd came out. He'd been in China, the last country they were going to visit before heading back to LA, when there had been a problem with a venue and what had been a free half-day turned into twenty-four whole hours of leisure. The rest of the cast had bolted into Beijing to go clubbing. Not feeling up to dodging drinks and temptation, he'd had Dolphinia rent a car for him and headed out into the countryside to do some sight seeing.

One impromptu stop later, he was driving back to Beijing, back damp with sweat as the enormity of what he'd just done hit him.

He fumbled for his cell. "Dolphina!" he'd shouted as soon as she answered the phone. "Tell the producers that I'm not coming to the session tonight and move up my flight. And I'm going to need an additional seat," he added when she started to ask what was wrong.

"Robin," she said after a moment, "Robin,_ what did you do?_"

He laughed, half-hysterically, because of course she would ask that. He was Robin Chadwick, perennial screw up. And at the moment, even with his Emmy-nominated acting skills, he wasn't up to sounding innocent, even over a bad connection.

"Just do it, please, Dolphinia," he tried to channel Jules' serious FBI voice. "And make sure the press doesn't get wind of this - I mean total media blackout. The press can't even get a _whisper_."

"A whisper of _what?"_ Dolphinia demanded and Robin hit disconnect and turned off his Blackberry.

Dolphinia was amazing, as always. Robin drove to the airport and practically walked right onto the plane, bags already checked, Dolphina waiting for him with curiosity in her eyes.

He made in all the way back to Boston without the press getting even a sniff of what he'd left China with.

Back to Boston, where Jules wasn't waiting for them.

Which wasn't surprising - Jules was helping the BPD with a serial killer called The Wicket Man who had worked his way to Boston from Harrisburg. The last text Jules had spent had been two words: 'we're close.'

Robin knew that Jules was busy, needed to focus, and allowed himself to call his husband only once. At which point he'd left a voice mail saying that they "needed to talk." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Robin had realized that "we need to talk" was the absolute _last_ thing Jules should hear on a dangerous case. Robin had immediately called back, and did his best to reassure Jules that everything was fine, just fine. That had been two days ago.

Robin rubbed his hands across his face, went to the guest bedroom and just stood in the doorway for a very long time, and then walked back downstairs.

Food. He'd go make himself a sandwich and work on what he was going to say to Jules.

"'So, baby,'" he started. "No, way too flippant, ummm, let's start with the basics, 'hello lover, I've missed you, by the way - you may want to sit down- when I was in China-"

The door opened and Jules walked it. He looked tired, shoulders slumped, a nasty scrap on his right cheek. He saw Robin and heat leaped in his gorgeous chocolate eyes for one instant and then Jules masked whatever he was feeling.

Robin suddenly realized how awkward he must look, standing in the entrance way.

"I was just-" he pointed towards the kitchen, realized his gesture looked ridiculous, couldn't figure out what to do with his hands. After a moment he decided to channel Hal, put his hands in his front pockets, cocky grin automatically coming to his lips.

"I missed you, babe," Robin said and something in Jules' eyes snapped.

"Who the fuck was he?" Jules snarled.

"How did you - but the press," Robin stumbled. Damn, damn, damn, he hadn't wanted Jules to find out from the tabloids. "She- it's a she, but I didn't want you to find out like this-"

Jules mouth opened in shock. "_She?" _he said incredulously and then gathered his ragged composure. "Well that's just.. that's just fucking....." he shook his head, like he couldn't believe it. "So, I guess you're done with your fucking science experiment, huh? Did you decide to go back to three million a picture? You _bastard._"

"What?" Robin said. "Jules, I-"

Jules laughed, the sound loud and sharp as broken glass and there was an answering cry from the bedroom above him, short and panicked.

Fury filled Jules' face and he pivoted on his toes, rushed past Robin and up the stairs, weapon in his hand.

"Wait-" Robin cried, chasing after him, "Jules, _listen_ to me-"

Jules burst into the guest room and swept on the light. Robin saw his back stiffen in shock, his hand slowly falling to his side, as if his gun were suddenly far too heavy to hold.

Robin brushed past his husband, picked up the two-year-old hiding behind the guest bed.

"It's alright, sweetheart," he murmured to her. Lihua snuffled near silently against his neck and he rubbed his hand reassuring along her back. "It's going to be alright."

Robin took a deep breath, turned to face Jules.

His husband was staring at him, shocked.

"The tabloids are going to say that I'm - that we're cribbing from Brangelia, but this - I didn't adopt her because of a fad or because I didn't think it through - okay, I didn't think it through, because I'm a fuck-up," Robin remembered the little listening ears, "a, a screw-up, but I was going for a drive and I stopped at this orphanage and decided to meet the kids, you know, in case there were movie fans there and it - it was horrible Jules, it was like a prison and she - she just _looked_ at me and I couldn't leave her."

"Robin," Jules said with a soft, soft look in his eyes.

"But I'm taking this seriously, Jules, I've never been more serious about anything, if I have to I'll quit acting to be her dad I'll do it and if, if we're not together or I could move back in with Janie and- I'm going to be a good father, I swear, I _swore_ to her I would be, I'm going to brush her hair and make her breakfast, I'm going to make her healthy breakfasts _every day_ and I'm never going to hit her. She'll always, always know that I love her and she'll go to a good school and do great, she's going to be a valedictorian, you can see how smart she is if you look in her eyes, she's not a moron like me..."

"_Robin,_" Jules said and he trailed off, only now aware the he was choked up. But that was okay, because he saw that Jules had tears in his eyes too.

Jules smiled at him and asked, formally, "Robin, would you introduce me to our daughter?"

Robin smile wobbled as he gazed at his husband. "Lihua Cassidy, meet your other daddy."


End file.
